In the field of garment fitting, selection and processing there are a number of methods which are directed towards helping clients obtain a garment of a correct fit, and having a particular appearance. Convenience, efficiency and reliability are important in providing systems which enable clients to obtain clothing which fits properly, and meets their approval visually.
It is common knowledge what is involved with standard ready to wear approaches to providing well fitted clothes which meet a client's visual preferences. Typically, one of the most reliable and traditional approaches of retailers involves providing mirrors, and if needed, changing facilities so that clients may actually try on garments for sale to directly assess the fit and appearance of that garment prior to purchase. This method relies upon the physical presence of garments having a wide variety sizes, fabrics and styles, on a retailer's premises. Additional steps such as the provision of service personnel for consultation, measuring and alteration (a form of garment processing) further helps in achieving a fit and appearance desirable to the client. For clarity, garment processing is hereinafter understood to at least include the process of altering garments and the process of manufacturing or creating garments. Although this approach is reliable, it may not prove to be convenient for busy clients who do not have time, or are too removed geographically to physically relocate themselves to the premises of the garment providing retailer to try on clothing. A desired garment may simply not be available from a local retailer. There also is a lack of efficiency as locating, trying on, and removing garments can be time consuming and requires some physical exertion.
Other traditional approaches are used when a client is not satisfied with buying ready to wear garments or altered ready to wear garments from a retailer. Typically these approaches provide services for the creation of made to measure clothing, or custom made clothing, and requires a different shopping process. Typically a dressmaker or a tailor provides the service by arranging a consultation with the client. At that meeting, the client discusses with the tailor, the garments they would like made, typically with the help of magazines, patterns, etc. depicting ready made garments that would not fit the client, as references. The tailor then measures the client and in consultation with the client, helps the client choose suitable fabrics and styles. The tailor would then begin the process of custom design including many fittings involving the client and the tailor. Once these fittings are concluded the garment is finished and the client receives the made to measure clothing. There are a number of problems associated with this method. The client often encounters difficulty finding both the proper fabric and a suitable tailor; the fabric industry and the tailoring industry not being completely integrated industries. The tailor may take inaccurate measurements, leading to fitting difficulties. The client, although involved in the process of garment creation, does not ever completely know what the final fitted garment will look like which may lead to dissatisfaction once the garment is complete. Tailoring skills to custom fit clothing to any body shape and size are rare and can demand a high premium.
Other well known traditional approaches attempt to mitigate the efficiency and convenience shortfalls of these methods which require clients to physically try on garments or have their measurements taken by a tailor. Examples of such approaches are catalogue based shopping, and more recently online catalogue based shopping. These methods focus on convenience and allow a client to obtain clothing without ever having to physically go to the provider's premises to try on the garment. These methods provide pictures of garments worn by models to help a client decide which garments meet their visual approval. The ordering mechanism typically allows the client to use a rough description of their physical make-up or size, in an attempt to obtain garments of a proper fit. The very convenience of these methods, however, can lead to unreliability because of the difficulties in predicting fit and predicting appearance without actually physically bringing together the garment, and the particular client. In specifying size or physical make-up, a client may be unrealistic about their own measurements or simply inaccurate. Some catalogue and online shopping approaches provide for some customization based on measurements of the client but even so this does not guarantee a proper fit, and still does not address the problem of predicting the appearance of the garment as worn by the client.
Although these traditional methods are each in their turn reliable, and alternatively convenient and efficient, they do not constitute solutions which can be said to be at the same time reliable, convenient, and efficient.
More recent approaches to garment fitting, selection and creation have attempted to solve various areas of the problem but do not provide a complete integrated and coordinated solution.
Some approaches for online shopping of garments allow a client to browse existing inventory through a web site or at a kiosk in a retail location. Some online retailers offer a virtual try on feature. These virtual try on features generally allow a client to choose from a variety of face shapes, body features, hair color and styles of garments. An image is generated using computer graphics, often using simple shaded polygons, from the choices made by the client. This image is either generated from manual input of a client or may involve the use of a scanner. The client can then browse through selected merchandise and try articles on the computer-generated image. This image is not a realistic representation of the client given the limits to the size and shape of the model that can be generated and the facial characteristics, hair styles, and body proportions are often predetermined renderings. The final composite image of the client in the garments is a visual simulation, and does not involve physical simulation of clothing. If a client likes a garment they may purchase the garment in person or online electronically, after which the garment could be shipped to the client. Although this process can provide additional convenience and efficiency it has its own shortfalls with respect to reliability. Some of the problems associated with this process are that the image used to virtually try on garments may not be a true representation of what the client would look like in the garment. The client generally must rely on a generated image alone to choose a garment. These images would not show how the garment would drape and fall on a client's body and for example how tightly it would fit, since the computer generated image can only produce rudimentary visual cues, and is not a physical simulation of the garments. As a result, the client may buy clothing in the wrong size. If a client happens to purchase clothes of the right size there may be certain aspects of the clothes which do not fit. For example the sleeves could be too long, or the pants too short, or some aspect of clothing too tight, too loose, or perhaps drapes differently from the computer image.
It would be desirable for there to be a method of garment fitting, selection, and processing which is convenient, reliable, and efficient, by providing a way of virtually trying on clothing which produces an accurate photo-realistic representation of what the clothing will look like on a client, and avoids the problems of existing methods. It would be desirable for a method which, in addition to providing a client with an accurate virtual representation of how they would look in a garment through a computer generated image, also provides a solution which avoids the problem of a client purchasing clothing which is the incorrect size, or is otherwise too tight, too loose, too long, too short, or does not fit in a certain respect due to the reliance only upon a computer generated image to choose a piece of clothing. It would also be desirable to provide the client access to virtually any design or style of garment rather than relying on the availability of garments at the local retailer premises.